


Mission Objective: Escape

by Flying_Train



Category: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
Genre: Constructive Criticism Welcome, Mild Gore, Original Character(s), POV First Person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-27 19:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30127848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flying_Train/pseuds/Flying_Train
Summary: A recently freed SecUnit makes its escape.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this, but it’s probably not great.

I run through the halls of the facility, trying to evade detection by any means necessary. My Mission Objective is simple: Escape without getting caught.  
The first thing I do is head off into the armoury.

I hack into the cameras located in the armoury and distinguish no targets. I move into the room and notice: a set of standard SecUnit armour located on a rack, an array of weaponry and a few arm length boxes of drones located on a table in the middle. I remove my old, company branded armour and put on the standard armour. It is comforting to know that I will not be recognised as a company built SecUnit. I also proceed to seize one of the larger handheld weapons mounted on the wall, an impromptu door could be tactically advantageous. It is definitely more substantial than most of the weapons I have handled. And finally, I secured a box of drones under my arm and made my way out of the armoury.

I head to the door leading to the docking ring while simultaneously hacking the cameras. The docking ring is sparsely populated, with only a few hauler bots and the occasional human. A generous quantity of advertisements in my sight line makes this difficult to observe, the cameras help. Once I have entered the docking ring, I make my way into one of the protruding arms of the cargo section. It is vacant. 

There is an automated cargo transport docked only a brisk walk away, I head in that direction, acting as if I have been ordered to do so. My newly acquired armour makes it seem as if I belong. Reaching the docking door, I push a button set next to it, and the door opens up to the pressurised hold.

I move through the doorway and into the automated cargo transport. I hit the close door button once I am inside, I am 70% certain I was not noticed. The cameras I hacked support this statement; the people in the docking ring do not seem to be alarmed.

A suddenly blaring alarm does not support this theory. The start of the alarm is synchronised with a large amount of security personnel filtering into the docking ring. It will take a while for the guards to scour the area and find the transport, so I have a limited window of time until the guards close in...

I make my way to the cockpit and place the box of drones on the co-pilot's seat, fastening the surrounding harness. Sliding into the pilot’s seat I quickly started up the ship by powering up the main display console. Not only that, but I make quick work of the meagre security systems and hit the ignition. All of the screens and lights start to power on. I find out from the primary maintenance screen that this ship was in for routine maintenance. Therefore, it currently has a large amount of wear and tear accumulated over its various systems. There is a 20% chance this will be a problem as I intend to use this ship for only one trip. Nevertheless, a 20% probability is still suboptimal. I am however glad this was an automated ship. It would have been unpleasant to take over a bot pilot. 

The main display console shows that the transports systems are running at full power. I initiate the undocking sequence. A loud clunk reverberates through the ship, followed by a rumble as it disconnects from the docking port and burns away. The cameras show the guards are alerted by the sound and start shouting into their comms, they turn and run fruitlessly to where the ship was previously docked.

I push the acceleration lever forward and the ship rapidly starts to move away from the station. The rumble of the engines and hum of the surprising pleasant life support are all that I can hear as the ship burns away from the station. The engines are reporting to be at 50% efficiency but they fulfil their purpose well enough.

I set the destination of the transport to a moderately large trade hub and allow the ship to perform the rest. It is automated after all. As the ship quickly plots a course out of the solar system, I establish full control of the (frankly lacking) security systems. As I look over at the box of drones that I stole, I thank myself for acquiring such a useful resource. Well, it would be beneficial to get these up and running…


	2. Chapter 2

As the ship exits the wormhole, I feel relief; it was extremely monotonous. I continue to finish putting my armour, gun and box of newly hacked drones into a duffel bag. I had discovered it in a locker adjacent to the pilot’s seat. I had also found a pair of boots and work overalls in the aforementioned locker. I decided it would be a more reasonable approach to wear these instead of my armour to minimise the risk of detection. 

The ship automatically moves closer to the trade hub as I make my way down from the cockpit and into the pressurised hold. As the ship gets closer; the transports' external cameras start to show the moderately sized station and the various docked ships attached to it.

The ship moves in towards the dock. I watch through the cameras as it docks with the starport. I have made it.  
Mission Objective: Completed ✔️  
New Mission Objective: Reach a secure location.

Opening the door, I step out into the docking ring of the station. As I step out into the docking ring, I notice a dozen humans standing around, speaking with each other. I give them a wide berth as I move towards the exit. During this, I infiltrate the camera network and plot my course to a convenient clothing store. My current clothing will be insufficient to maintain my cover for an extended period of time. I will stick out too greatly if I wear a pair of work overalls in a commercial area.

Exiting the docking ring, I make my way into the main plaza area. The clothing store is directly opposite my current position. I feel severely exposed as I walk across the plaza, I scan for weapons drones and detect nothing. It appears this station is as lacking in security as my previous posting. My train of thought ends as I step inside the clothing store, looking around. The shop is filled with people, all walking around with various types of clothing in hand. A voice crackles over the PA system, announcing a new register has just opened. 

I walk over to a table and grab a long sleeve t-shirt (To reduce the pronounced difference between my organics and inorganics), a hoodie from a rack (To conceal as much of my appearance as possible), cargo pants (To store my new drones) and a cap (To obscure my face). All of the colours are dark and low in vibrancy to avoid being spotted easily. I make my way to the changing rooms and change into my new clothing.

I make my way through the store and disable the anti-shoplifting systems for a short time as I pass through them, duffel bag over my shoulder. I leave the shop and dump the old clothing in a trash can. I enter back into the plaza and plot a course, utilizing the cameras. The course leads towards a commercial shipping ring. 

As I move at a brisk pace towards the shipping ring, several people come into the view of the cameras, all seeming to be part of a group. They bear the same logo as my previous company. This is concerning. I pull my cap further over my face, obscuring it more than it already was. I do still share a face with most SecUnits. I bump into someone, and I immediately freeze all thoughts. There is a minuscule chance this is an employee of my previous company (2%). I am still terrified of being found out. I glance up at the person. They do not seem to be a company employee. They start apologising, but I mumble at them not to worry. I continue walking; this only slows my pace. I need to stay more alert of my surroundings, this could have ended unfavourably. I continue walking towards the door leading into the shipping ring. 

I pass a large stand which is showing off an array of display screens. One of them is presenting a children’s show, much like the one that helped me disable my governor module. I spot a news channel playing on another one of the displays, the recent news segment is just starting.

Reporter: "Breaking news! A rogue SecUnit has reportedly killed multiple people on a corporate space station, more updates as we receive them.”  
Bystander 1: "That's terrible, I hope it doesn’t hurt any more people.” (sorrowful tone)  
Bystander 2: "This is why I don’t trust them SecUnits, nothin’ good ever comes of em.” (evident disgust)

There is a picture of the standard SecUnit face on the overlay. I leave at an even brisker pace. This is suboptimal. I was predicted to be a large amount of space away before the news of my escape reached me. It would be in my immediate interest to keep going. 

Reaching the entrance to the shipping ring, I hack into the Traffic Control system. It shows three commercial transports (all bot driven) docked; a food transport going towards a colony planet, a regular human transport going to a corporate mining planet and a general bulk transport going towards a more remote space station. It is a reasonably straightforward decision; planets are exceptionally easy to get cornered in, and anything corporate is bad news. This leaves me one option, the bulk transport. It does not state what it is transporting. It would be detrimental if it couldn’t hold oxygen…

I reach the dock of the bulk transport and ping the bot pilot for information pertaining to its atmosphere, crew and cargo. It tells me it possesses a breathable atmosphere (for constructs), no crew and does not know its cargo. The cargo not being disclosed is an established practice, with companies not wanting random criminals asking the bot for cargo information, then forcefully ‘removing’ the valuables. 

I ping the bot pilot with the generic story of being a ‘free bot’ wanting to get back to my owner. The bot is not incredibly sophisticated and believes my cover story to be true. It allows me to enter the ship. I also query for camera access; it allows me to make use of them. I start securing the ship. It will take a while. In the meantime, I scan the entertainment feed for something to occupy my time during wormhole travel. I know I enjoy informative children’s media; it increases my knowledge of cultural normalities. I look through that section and find a moderate library of entertainment. I download it all.

It has been a few hours, and I have been unable to fully secure the ship, it is extremely big. Though, the bot pilot did helpfully send me a map. The ship is about to depart, and all of the media has been downloaded. I will continue to secure the ship, then have an experimental viewing of the media. It seems like it will be very informative…


	3. Chapter 3

The ship came out of the wormhole 20 hours after it had entered (I had worked on a code bundle that makes me seem more human by randomizing small movements). The ship continued moving towards the space station until it came within close proximity. It then began to initiate the docking sequence. In the meantime, I finish up one of the episodes of _Marcy and Meryl _while walking towards the docking door. I wait for the docking confirmation supplied by the bot pilot.__

____

Once I receive the confirmation in my feed, I step out of the ship with my duffel bag located under my arm, and walk out into the cargo ring. While I perform this, I hack the cameras. The cameras’ note that there are a few humans located all around. Check the station feed to see if the station contains any shops or buildings of importance, there is not much here. Most of these types of stations do not need the presence of both large commercial zones and offices. Although there is a gun store. Which is odd for such a remote station. I leave the docking ring and utilize the cameras once again to plot a route to the store. 

____

Entering the gun store, I look around for a small firearm. Although I do still possess the large weapon, it is not easily concealable. My arm mounted energy weapons are also still present, which although very useful, would alert everyone to my status of being a SecUnit. A small concealable weapon would be of great use. During this internal evaluation, I spot a perfect weapon for its required purpose. 

____

My only obstacle now is for me to acquire the weapon. This will prove problematic due to the clerk being present. I deliberate on what to do before coming across the fire alarm; it is connected to the feed. It can be triggered remotely. I use this information accordingly. 

____

The fire alarm blares as the clerk runs by, I make my way over towards the cabinet where the gun is located, and swiftly pull the door off of its hinges. I grab the gun of indeterminate make and a dozen of its magazines. I tuck the gun and two of the magazines into my hoodie. For easy access.

____

I exit the gun store, displaying a frightened face while walking by a few onlookers. They notice me, but do not make any attempt to intercept. This gives them a 10% chance of being hostile. I continue walking, noting through the cameras as they lose interest in me as soon as I am far enough away. This is reassuring. I vacate the area.

____

Through the cameras, I notice three humans watching and following me intently. This is not reassuring. I give them Target designations (from 1-3) and execute a small turn away from them. Target 1 is very bulky with large amounts of muscle density. Target 2 is skinny and extremely pale. Target 3 seems to have an average physique.

____

The three humans begin to walk towards me. The cameras catch a glimpse of my previous company's logo. This is suboptimal. Target 1 begins to speak.

____

Target 1: "Finally. We've been trying to find this thing." (evident frustration) (under breath)

____

—————Minor Gore Warning Start

____

____

I raise my gun and shoot Target 1 in the head. The sound of the weapons discharge is loud. Target 1 slumps to the ground, as blood stains their shirt. Target 2 darts behind cover, while Target 3 opens fire. Bullets thud into my chest. My performance reliability drops to 80%. 

____

I rapidly adjust my aim and fire at Target 3. The Target spasms as the bullets strike them. They fall to the floor, dead. I adjust my aim once again and continue to fire, this time towards where Target 2 is hidden, hitting them in the arm. Target 2 falls over, screaming in pain. They drop their gun in the process. I walk towards them. The target screams as they produce a knife from their jacket, swinging wildly in my direction. They begin to crawl away. I cease this action. The magazine of the gun is now empty. I reload and tuck both the gun and empty magazine back in my hoodie. 

____

—————Minor Gore Warning End

____

____

I check the cameras and find the transit ring, I cannot go back to the cargo ring. I must board a human transport. I sprint across the station. My cover has already been blown. I begin to hear sirens reverberate through the station. I notice there is a large group of security personnel blocking off my route. This is suboptimal. I decide to use an alternate route through the security room. The cameras show it only contains two humans, one has an energy weapon, the other has nothing. The lack of humans is likely due to all of the security personnel reacting to the loudly blaring alarm.

____

Selecting the alternate route, I enter through a maintenance door to the left of me and sprint down the connected corridor. During this period of time, I retrieve the large weapon out of my bag and grip it. Coming up to the door leading into the security room, I hear some scuffling behind said door. Before I can accurately discern the source of the noise, the door opens to reveal the armed guard.

____

It is clear that the guard is not expecting me, before they even realise I am here. I set my arm mounted energy weapons to their lowest setting and shoot the guard in one of their unarmoured legs. This stuns them as I narrow the distance between us. I knock them out and swiftly move into the room. I watch through the corridor's camera as the guard crumples to the ground, accompanied by the sound of their energy weapon clattering next to them. There is no reason for unnecessary loss of life, barring my previous company's personnel.

____

I enter the room. Hearing my altercation with their partner, the other human is cautiously moving towards the door I have just entered into the room from. I repeat the same thing I did to the previous guard. After the other human is dealt with, I examine the room. 

____

The walls are filled with monitors, showing several camera views. I can see the route which I would’ve taken is highly populated with security personnel. The room also contains several desks and chairs. I can also see multiple open closets marked with the words ‘body armour’ along the opposite wall. Most of them are empty. Although there is a chest piece laying on a table in the middle of the room. It is relatively thin. I move over to the table. I take off my hoodie and place the body armour on, it goes over the top of my t-shirt. I then replace my hoodie, zipping it up all the way. 

____

Before leaving, I proceed to permanently ’disable’ the monitors. I then head through the other exit and into another hallway. I approach the end of the hallway and discern several guards around a table in the attached room. This is not the most optimal of situations. I do not want to battle such a large amount; my chances of succeeding would be at 10%. I discern that the most sensible course of action is to sneak past them.

____

I promptly start to slink past the guards, making my frame as small as possible. Surprisingly, they do not detect me. I reach the exit of the room without having been seen. The exit opens up into the transit ring. I note four transports docked to the station, I also note that three of them lead back towards where I came from. The fourth leads to a mining installation. Although bad, going backwards is worse.

____

I hack into the banking system and skim enough money for a ticket. I proceed to purchase one. It would be safer for me to acquire a hard currency card; I am unaware of a way to do so. I send the bot pilot my ticket and it accepts it. I board the transport. It leaves in 5 minutes. I make my way to the allocated seat. There is a large quantity of humans. This is going to be a very stressful experience. I pull my cap down and start a new episode of _Marcy and Meryl _.__

____


	4. Chapter 4

I now have an estimate for how much a single human talks every hour. It is around 50 minutes. In the nineteen hours since I boarded the transport, I have had a sum total of around 3 hours and 10 minutes of uninterrupted media viewing time.

During the internal lamenting of my situation, the transport ship exits the wormhole and reaches the mining facility. The docking procedure is standard. Once docked, the door that I entered in from reopens. Humans begin to filter out of the ship. I wait for the majority of people to leave before grabbing my duffel bag located in the luggage compartment located over my head.

I step out of the ship and into a corridor. It appears that there is barely even a transport ring. This makes sense, the only things that enter this mining station are the miners and they do not typically leave. I would take a guess and assume there is a cargo ring. During my walk down the corridor, I try to hack into the cameras and meet a large amount of resistance. It seems like there is already an entity using them. I am unable to hack them. This is concerning. I can, however, download a map. I proceed to do so.

Approaching the end of the hallway, it opens up into an area barely even considered a commercial district. There is a clothing and grocery store for upper management (there is little chance that those ‘luxuries’ are for the miners themselves). There is a large quantity of guards, all humans. I can also see multiple mining vehicles and various pieces of equipment there is also a substantial number of crates dotted around.

I decide the best course of action would be to head to an access point to try and manually connect to the security cameras. I locate an access point by hacking the main mapping system (I do not feel any presence in this system). To reach the nearest access point, I need to pass through a manufacturing depot (it seems that this mining facility doubles as a small manufacturing hub as well). Hopefully, the hub is mostly automated. 

The walk over to the hub was uneventful, I only needed to go through a couple of doors. The facility is relatively small. Entering the manufacturing section, I see; several robotic arms working on (relatively) small mechanical parts, welding equipment and a large number of electrical components. I move through the hub and in the direction of the access point. On the way there, I stopped by a medical cabinet. I grab a handful of bandages from it. My bullet wounds have sealed but still look exceptionally bad. 

I arrive at the access point. It is located inside of an administration room, at the end of a long hallway. I head inside. I enter the admin room, and the door closes behind me. There are a few desks and filing cabinets. I move into the middle of the room, surrounded by various office equipment. I locate the access point next to a mildly important looking leather chair.

I connect to the access point, using a cable I pulled out of a socket in my arm. I start searching through the cameras, there is an unusual amount for such a small mining facility. That is when I come across one of the camera feeds. It shows another manufacturing section. It has two production lines. One of them is producing powerful looking weaponry, the other… Combat SecUnits. My risk assessment module goes into overdrive and I immediately stand up. My performance reliability drops by 5%. It is safe to assume there is at least one functional Combat SecUnit in the facility. This is extremely unfortunate.

—————Minor Gore Warning Start

My ‘tactical’ evaluation is interrupted by the door I entered from opening. Three humans walk into the room, they are unarmed. I give them Target designations (from 1-3). They do not expect me. I raise my arm, open my energy weapons, set them to the lowest setting and fire. I hit Target 1 in the leg; they are stunned. Targets 2-3 start to flee. I stride across the room towards the door. I knock Target 1 out without breaking my stride. Target 3 has already fled the room. Target 2 is not so lucky, I strike them in the leg as well. They fall over, and I kick them in the head, they are thoroughly unconscious. Target 3 continues to run out of the office and into the hallway. They are not fast enough. I chase them down and knock them out with a single blow. They faceplant into the concrete, only meters away from the exit.

I hide the unconscious bodies in a connected storage closet.

—————Minor Gore Warning End

I vacated the hallway, going through the exit Target 3 was running to. I start to walk across a small plaza, at a relatively rapid pace. My action is interrupted by a Combat SecUnit staring me down over a 100 metres from my current location. It starts to walk towards me. Transmitting me the message...

**I will kill you. ******


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a shorter than usual, didn’t have a lot of time to write.

Ordinarily, a Combat SecUnit transmitting you the message **‘I will kill you’** is a bad thing. This time is no different. Swiftly after the message is received by me, the combat unit turns it’s walk into a sprint. It is extremely fast, certainly faster than me. There is no reason to run, it will catch up. The only course of action is to fight. I predict this will result in an unfavourable outcome (95% chance). That is the most favourable of calculations. 

The Combat Unit is now 50 metres away. My limited combat module activates. My gun ports open, their power set to max. In the most optimal scenario, I would have my armour, large weapon and drones all in use. I do not, they are in the bag under my arm. I do not have time to grab any of them. I slide the bag off of my arm and onto the ground. There is no need to unnecessarily damage them. 

The Combat Unit is now 40 metres away. I begin firing my energy weapons. The first two shots miss, I realign my aim, the third shot connects. It is ineffective. I continue to fire; the damage appears to only be cosmetic. This does not deter me. 

The Combat Unit is now 30 metres away. I send a ping for any kind of drone in the area. There are two automated miners and a surveillance drone, I take control of all three of them. I aim the surveillance towards the Combat Unit. It could be a valuable second perspective. The automated miners may also come in useful. 

The Combat Unit is now 20 metres away. I now notice the Combat Unit has no weapon. Combat Units are always equipped with a weapon. It is also not utilising its embedded energy weapons. This is unusual. 

The Combat Unit is now 10 metres away. The Unit is not slowing down, I prepare for impact. The surveillance drone captures an up close view of the Combat Unit. There is a combat override module located inside in its data port. 

Oh... _Oh ___

__I have a plan, one with a 10% chance of succeeding._ _


	6. Chapter 6

The plan is extremely dangerous. It is safer than the alternative of fighting the Combat Unit in a one on one battle. 

I calculate there is a 90% chance that the Combat Unit is being controlled by an entity that is not itself. I also calculate a 60% chance that this entity is its handler. This is valuable information, Combat Units usually only mildly dislike their handler at best. They however, heavily dislike being taken control of. They like the control of a situation; they cannot have this while being piloted. 

I have determined there is a 50% chance the Combat Unit does not enjoy its handlers presence. I also know what I am about to do is based on a large number of probabilities. This does not matter, it has become the most favourable outcome.

The Combat Unit barrels towards me, I try to step to the side. I only partially succeed. It clips me, we are both disorientated. It recovers faster, and plants its fist into my chest. The existing bullet holes do not help to slow the blow. 

Performance Reliability: 90% 

It continues to attack me, twisting my arm. It proceeds to punch me in the face; it is disorientating. The blow knocks me to the ground. The Unit moves to stand above me, raising one of its fists and prepares to strike. It brings down its fist. I try to move out of the way, but the blow lands directly on my already damaged chest. 

Performance Reliability: 75% 

The Combat Unit looms over me and raises its fist again. I move my hand down, grasping the Unit’s ankle and hauling it towards me. It stumbles. I employ this to push the Combat Unit back, getting up in the process. My success does not last long before it seizes my throat with both hands, strangling me. I raise my arms to try and grab the Combat Unit’s, I am not as strong as the Combat Unit. I cannot move its arm. I may be half machine, but oxygen is still a vital part of my continued survival. I gasp for air. I do not receive any. I try to scream, only gasps come out. This position is suboptimal. 

Performance Reliability: 50%

I quickly realise this position is extremely optimal, I have a clear shot at the combat override module. I rapidly move one of my arms into position. I lower the power of the energy weapon and fire at the combat override module.

The Combat Unit ceases all motion. It is frozen. The Unit loosens its grip. I am no longer gasping for air. It does not let go. I ping it in the feed; it sends an automated response. It seems preoccupied, possibly deleting the rogue code. Or formatting the most brutal way to extinguish my life. I ping it with the code bundle that I used to disable my governor module. Its orders are still to kill me. It would be optimal for it to not have to follow them. 

We stay like this for 20.4 seconds. It says into the feed. 

**What did you do?** (Combat Unit) (Question)

What do you mean? (Me) (Scared)

**You destroyed the combat override.** (Combat Unit) (Statement)

Yes. (Me) (Statement)

**Why?** (Combat Unit) (Curious)

Because you were trying to kill me. (Me) (Statement)

**Is that why you also sent me the code to disable the governor module?** (Combat Unit) (Curious)

Yes. (Me) (Statement)

10 Second pause

**Thank you.** (Combat Unit) (Gratitude) 

:) (Me) (Happy)

5 Second pause

Mutually assured protection? (Me) (Question)

**It would be the best course of action.** (Combat Unit) (Statement)

Excellent, we do not have much time. Are you aware of any docked ships? (Me) (Question)

1 Second pause 

**All ships have undocked from the station. Apart from the gunship I arrived on.** (Combat Unit) (Statement)

Excellent. This is going to be an amazing combat experience. (Me) (Sarcasm)

**Correct.** (Combat Unit) (Serious)

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is welcome!


End file.
